Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1985. Other noted TV roles included roles in '' The Chief'', '' Midsomer Murders'', '' The Vice'', ''

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher ''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'' is a British series of television films made by Hat Trick Productions for ITV, written by Helen Edmundson and Neil McKay. It stars Paddy Considine in the title role of detective inspector Jack Whicher of the Met ...

'', ''

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

'' and two '' Doctor Who'' stories (''

The Claws of Axos ''The Claws of Axos'' is the third serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971. In the serial, set in Britain ...

'' (1971) and '' The Masque of Mandragora'' (1976)). Pigott-Smith appeared in many notable films including: '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981), ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' (2002), '' Johnny English'' (2003), ''

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

'' (2004), ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British anthol ...

'' (2005), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' Red 2'' (2013) and ''

Jupiter Ascending ''Jupiter Ascending'' is a 2015 space opera film written, directed and co-produced by the Wachowskis. Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis with Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Douglas Booth in supporting roles, the film is centered on Jupiter J ...

'' (2015).

Early life

Pigott-Smith was born in Rugby,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, the son of Margaret Muriel ( née Goodman) and Harry Thomas Pigott-Smith, who was a journalist. He was educated at Wyggeston Boys' School, Leicester, King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon and Bristol University. He trained as an actor at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

Career

Film and television

After a long career in smaller roles, Pigott-Smith's appearance as Arthur Llewellyn Davies in the BBC's ''

The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jerem ...

'' mini-series led to his gaining his big break with the leading role of Ronald Merrick in the 1984 television serial '' The Jewel in the Crown''. Other appearances include the title role in the crime drama series '' The Chief'' (1990–1993), a recurring role in ITV drama '' The Vice'' as

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed th ...

's nemesis, Vickers, and '' Bloody Sunday''. He appeared in two adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell's '' North and South''; in the 1975 version he played Frederick Hale and in 2004 he played Frederick's father Richard. In 1995, he starred in a serial of the series ''Ghosts''. He appeared twice in '' Doctor Who'': in the stories ''

'' (1971) and '' The Masque of Mandragora'' (1976). He was a regular narrator of

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

. He narrated '' The Team: A Season with McLaren'', a six-episode BBC series about the 1993 season with

McLaren Racing McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

. He also narrated the ''

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

'' series, which examines pivotal battles of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

from an operations point of view. Later, he narrated a series on the British Royal Family, entitled '' Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work''. The series followed Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

for more than a year, including the 2007 state visit to the United States. From 2011 to 2014, he portrayed Commissioner Mayne in the ITV drama series ''

'', written by Helen Edmundson. He appeared in ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

'' in 2015 as a taxidermist in the episode "One For Sorrow". He also appeared on the ITV series, ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'' in the third series' (third season) fifth episode as obstetrician/gynaecologist Sir Philip Tapsell, who was present at the death of Lady Sybil Crawley Branson (Jessica Brown Findlay) from

eclampsia Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is one of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in ...

after giving birth to her daughter. His film career included the 2004 film ''

'', ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in th ...

'', '' Clash of the Titans'', ''

'', '' Johnny English'', ''

The Remains of the Day ''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...

'' and ''

''. He also appeared as Major General Robert Ford in director

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

's '' Bloody Sunday'' (2002), and as the Foreign Secretary in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008). In February 2010 Piggott-Smith played Alan Keen in the television film '' On Expenses''. He also had a cameo appearance as Sniggs in the BBC production of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's ''

Decline and Fall ''Decline and Fall'' is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was Waugh's first published novel; an earlier attempt, titled '' The Temple at Thatch'', was destroyed by Waugh while still in manuscript form. '' ...

'' in 2017. His final film role was that of Sir

Henry Ponsonby Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary. Biography Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...

, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary, in '' Victoria & Abdul'' (2017).

Stage and radio

Pigott-Smith worked in the theatre in

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

roles, including Posthumus in John Barton's 1974 production of ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'' for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In early stage roles he was credited as "Tim Smith". In 2011 he took the title role in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

'' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Contemporary works included ''

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...

'', playing

Ken Lay Kenneth Lee Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006) was an American businessman who was the founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Enron. He was heavily involved in the eponymous accounting scandal that unraveled in 2001 into the large ...

, for the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

, and then London, in 2009 and Tobias in '' A Delicate Balance'' at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

, London in 2011. He returned to the Almeida in 2014 as a post-accession

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

in ''

'', for which he received a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Actor, and his first

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for its production on Broadway in 2015. He also appeared as Charles in the 2017 film adaptation of the play. He was also a radio actor, appearing in many productions on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Grave of Tim Piggott-Smith in Highgate Cemetery

Writing

During the making of ''The Jewel in the Crown'', Pigott-Smith wrote a diary on his impressions of India. This was published together with an anthology of poetry and prose under the title ''Out of India''. He wrote two children's books in the series ''The Baker Street Mysteries'', featuring the exploits of Sherlock Holmes'

Baker Street Irregulars The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The na ...

– ''The Dragon Tattoo'' (2008) and ''Shadow of Evil'' (2009). He played Holmes in a BBC Radio adaptation of ''

The Valley of Fear ''The Valley of Fear'' is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the ''Strand Magazine ...

''.

Death

Pigott-Smith was found dead on 7 April 2017, aged 70. His death was attributed to natural causes. He had been scheduled to appear in a touring production of ''Death of a Salesman'', with opening night in Northampton only three days later. His wife Pamela Miles was also originally scheduled to appear in the play but had withdrawn after breaking a bone and needing surgery. He is buried on the east side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Filmography and more

Film

Television

Audiobook narration

Awards and honours

Pigott-Smith won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in 1985, for his role in '' The Jewel in the Crown''. In 2014–15, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award and the

for his lead role in the play ''King Charles III''. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Tim Pigott-Smith
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

*
Tim Pigott-Smith
Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pigott-Smith, Tim 1946 births 2017 deaths English male film actors English male radio actors English male stage actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Male actors from Warwickshire People from Rugby, Warwickshire People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Alumni of the University of Bristol Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners Officers of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Highgate Cemetery